Articles
Roofing Materials
Choosing the best roofing material option…
Today, in this post we want to discuss roof materials and their importance. What is used commonly in Uganda? How can we decide which option is the best for us to use in our building? Let’s analyze together.
What is the roof?
First, we define what a roof is. The roof is the top cover of a building. It provides protection against rain, sunlight, extreme temperature and wind. Obviously, the roof is crucial.
What are the material options for the roof?
- Metal roofing (iron sheets etc.)
- Clay tiles
- Green roofs (Makuti, grass, thatched etc.)
- Onduline sheet
Iron Sheets or Clay Tiles
Unfortunately, metal roofing (iron sheets) materials dominate the market in Uganda. Why is it unfortunate? The reason is that iron sheets increase the heat indoors. Also, they create noise during rain. On the other hand, clay tiles are heavy. In construction, we always tend to reduce the structure weight due to earthquake impact. People don’t pay attention to earthquakes in Uganda. However, it must be considered during design process.
Or Green roof
This particular type of roof system has a positive impact on many of the project systems, as well as the community.
How it affects, let's note down;
- It reduces the heat island effect.
- It captures and treats stormwater, thereby reducing the quantity and improving the quality of the stomrowater.
- It provides habitat and increases open space.
- It optimizes energy performance by increasing the insulation value.
However, there is one negative impact which is considered trade-off to have the green roofs. That impact is to add extra load to the building'S structural system, thereby requring larger structural elements.
Onduline Bitumen Sheet!
There is one new option available, and it is a game changer. It is called the Onduline sheet: a bitumen base lightweight sheet. It reduces the noise incredibly and blocks the heat due to high Solar Reflectance Index value. As a bonus, it is suitable for green buildings which apply for LEED, BREAMM.
As a result, you must pay attention to your roofing material choice. You must consider our environment. We love Uganda. Let’s build sustainable buildings for our future generations.
